How to Get Rid of Desktop Toolbars
Toolbars can be helpful for a few people but terribly annoying at times for the others! If you want to learn how to remove toolbars (especially adware and spyware), you have found the right place!
Removing unwanted toolbars is a very good practice, because adware toolbars are not only known to monitor your search queries, but also check your browsing habits. You wouldn’t want anyone doing that, would you? All this private information of yourself is then stealthily sent to the toolbar’s host site and this information is used to send you targeted ads, and in some very extreme cases, if the information retrieved is very personal, like credit card numbers etc, it can be used without your permission to steal your identity.
More often than not, removing a toolbar can be very difficult. They get be downloaded secretly and are installed on your hard drive without your consent. Moreover, some tricky and smart ones develop ways to try and block their un-installation process. Some very bad ones even have hidden re-installers that install the same toolbar back, immediately after you have removed them. One disheartening thing is that removing toolbars manually is virtually impossible. What makes it worse is that these devious toolbars sometimes cannot be found out by antivirus software or cannot be stopped from performing its functions by firewalls, because they somehow integrate their conniving selves to the main part of your browser. Don’t worry though, because most of them are not so advanced.
Instructions to remove desktop toolbars
Like I said, most of them are not so technologically advanced, therefore the one thing you can do is to remove them manually. Follow these simple steps to do so!
Using your browser:
1. Click on the “View” menu dropdown of the browser that you use.
2. Select “Toolbars”,
3. You should see a list of toolbars you have. Uncheck the toolbars you do not want.
Using your Control Panel
1. Proceed by clicking ‘Start’, go to ‘Control Panel’ and double click on the ‘Add and Remove Program’ utility (Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs).
2. Once you are there, you should see a list of various programs you have installed on your computer. Look for some toolbar programs, find the name of the toolbar and then click the “Remove” button. The succeeding instructions should be very easy to follow.
Steps to take if a toolbar reappears
Like mentioned previously, the major problem with some of the spyware and adware toolbars is that they can protect themselves from the usual ‘Add or Remove programs’ uninstall tasks. They reappear on the browser that you use the next time you log on to internet and start it. Therefore the only remaining solution I can think of is to use an anti-spyware or adware programs. These very effective programs should be able to identify and properly remove spyware and adware toolbars and also any other adware/spyware files that are present in your computer. Most of the time, these malicious toolbars are only the tip of the iceberg. You may not be aware of the many other spyware/ adware/ malware threats hiding behind them that are undetected and even more damaging.
Changing browsers
Some people change the browser they currently use and use another browser to counteract this toolbar menace taking advantage of the fact that most adware toolbars are made with Internet Explorer in mind, but this idea is not very effective. Irrespective of what browser you use, if you do not have a proper and working anti-spyware program, your system will definitely be an adware and other kinds of infections magnet.
